Multifunction devices in modern office environments or other document management/production environments are used to perform functions that often previously used multiple separate devices. These functions can include printing, copying, scanning, faxing, electronic document transmission by other means, and so forth.
Copying functions, in effect, can be accomplished by combining scanning and printing functions. Consequently, the type of print engine used for the printing function can affect various characteristics of the copying function. One print engine type that is used for the printing function is a laser printer. With laser printers, a period of time is consumed while making the print engine ready for printing. However, the print engine maintaining a ready state indefinitely causes wear and tear.
In a copying operation using a scanner and a laser printer, a tradeoff may exist between the time used to complete the copying operation and the incremental wear and tear experienced by the laser printer as a result of the copying operation. For example, steps taken to reduce the incremental wear and tear experienced by the laser printer to perform a copying operation may lengthen the time used to perform the copying operation.